Comfort is an important consideration in the design and manufacture of undergarments. Cotton has long been a preferred fiber for many types of garments and, in particular, for some undergarments. This is because cotton fibers yield soft, smooth fabrics with a hand and feel suitable for next-to-skin applications like underwear, t-shirts, and the like.
Cotton also has processing advantages. Cotton yarn spinning systems are well developed and efficient, making the use of cotton attractive to the apparel designer. Cotton fibers are very moisture absorbent while also retaining moisture within the fiber. This gives cotton certain processing advantages, for example, high moisture content facilitates yarn spinning and knitting. Further, because cotton yarns and fabrics made from such yarns readily absorb water, cotton textiles may be dyed a variety of colors and shades, and are receptive to a variety of textile finishing chemistries. While the absorbency of cotton facilitates yarn processing and dyeing and finishing cotton fabrics, moisture retention may raise problems.
Cotton fibers do not naturally wick moisture away from the wearer when cotton is the only fiber used, because cotton absorbs and retains moisture as discussed above. In certain undergarment applications this causes cotton fibers to retain odor and/or promote bacterial growth, a clearly undesirable affect.